Eight & Bob: Perfumes That Capture History and Legend in a Bottle

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“Inside this bottle is a touch of French glamour that your American personality lacks.”
— A note from Albert Fouquet to the young John F. Kennedy in the brand’s story, as recounted by The Perfume Society

Essential Information

Starting point in the story: 1937 (Côte d’Azur / Paris)
Modern development: Packaging created in 2009; exhibited at Elements Showcase in 2012
Founder in the story: Albert Fouquet
Official website: https://eightandbob.com/
Pronunciation: Eight and Bob

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

A Fragrance Born on the Top Floor of an Aristocratic Château

The following is the story Eight & Bob tells about the brand’s origins. It begins in the aristocratic society of early twentieth-century Paris. Albert Fouquet was born the son of a distinguished Parisian aristocrat and belonged to elite French society. Known as a perfume connoisseur, he blended fragrances solely for his own use in a room on the top floor of the family château, with the help of the butler Philippe.

“He created fragrances only for himself. He never considered bringing them to market.”
(According to the story told on the official website)

The fragrance captivated people whenever he appeared at social gatherings and gradually acquired a reputation within his circle, prompting many acquaintances to urge him to commercialize it. Fouquet, however, continued to turn down those proposals. Making perfume was strictly a personal pleasure for him, and he had no interest in putting it on the market.

A Journey to the Andes in 1934

One episode described as essential to Fouquet’s perfume-making is his trip to Chile in January 1934. Visiting at the invitation of the Italian ambassador, he enjoyed the country’s attractions while exploring the Andes in search of aromatic plants for perfume. At an altitude of over 3,000 meters, Fouquet discovered a wild plant that he would later name “Andrea” and took it back to Paris. Its extract would become the central ingredient of The Original, the perfume at the origin of Eight & Bob.

A Fateful Encounter in the Summer of 1937

The direct catalyst for the brand’s birth was a chance encounter one night in the summer of 1937 on France’s Côte d’Azur. While on vacation, Fouquet met a young American student touring France in a convertible, and the two immediately hit it off. The young man’s name was John F. Kennedy, the future 35th president of the United States.

Within just minutes of their introduction, Kennedy was captivated by the fragrance Fouquet wore. In response to Kennedy’s charm and easygoing personality, Fouquet left a sample bottle with a note in his hotel room the following morning. The note contained the slightly barbed but endearing sentence quoted at the beginning of this article.

“Eight Bottles and, If You Have Stock, One for Bob”

Some time after Fouquet returned home from his vacation, a letter arrived from Kennedy in America. Along with the news that the perfume was a great success among his friends, Kennedy wrote:

“Could you send me eight samples? And, if you have stock, one more for Bob.”
— From John F. Kennedy’s letter to Albert Fouquet in the brand’s story

“Bob” was the family nickname of John’s younger brother, Robert F. Kennedy, who would later become a senator for New York. Fouquet reportedly did not fully understand the intention behind the request, but his perfectionism came to the fore. He is said to have refused to fill the order until Philippe, the butler, found suitable glass bottles at a Parisian pharmacy.

Once the bottles were chosen, Fouquet commissioned boxes bearing the same striped pattern as the shirt Kennedy had worn when they first met, and put Kennedy’s words directly on the label: “Eight & Bob.” This was how the brand acquired its name.

The Spread to Hollywood, Followed by Tragedy

A few months later, Fouquet received a surprise. Letters began arriving from America in the names of various Hollywood directors, producers, and actors, requesting Eight & Bob. Golden Age stars such as Cary Grant and James Stewart also fell under the perfume’s spell. They are said to have discovered Eight & Bob through Kennedy’s father, Joe Kennedy, whose business experience in the film industry had brought him into contact with many stars.

These happy times did not last, however. In the spring of 1939, Albert Fouquet died suddenly in a car accident near Biarritz, France. After his death, Philippe, the butler and the only person able to handle the orders, took over for just a few months. The outbreak of the Second World War then forced him, too, to leave the Fouquet household.

For the final shipments, Philippe hid the bottles inside books whose pages he had cut out by hand. It was an ingenious way to keep them from being confiscated by Nazi troops.

A Revival After Decades of Dormancy

According to Intertrade Europe, Eight & Bob’s formula and production methods then lay dormant for many years before being discovered and restored by Philippe’s family and relaunched for the modern era by Celso Fadelli. In 2009, the Barcelona design studio Pati Nuñez Associats designed the packaging around the concept “A fragrance with a story.” It was presented at Elements Showcase in New York in 2012, attracting attention in the niche-perfume world.

Retailer Mattace’s product description includes the following note on the status of the story:

“The Eight & Bob story is based on a family tale passed down orally over time. Fictional events and characters have been introduced into the final narrative.”

This note explains that, while the framework of the story rests on family oral tradition, the final narrative includes embellishment. It is difficult at present to draw a clear line between historical fact and legend, but the brand has consistently continued to tell the central episodes, including the encounter with John F. Kennedy.

What Defines the Brand

A Philosophy of Fragrance-Making: Slow Perfumery

Eight & Bob’s fragrances are composed through a meticulous process that could be called “slow perfumery.” Ingredients are measured on precision jewelers’ scales, macerated in small vats, and then left to mature slowly in the dark. The perfumers return to the formulas repeatedly, refining them until every layer, from top to heart to drydown, is in harmony.

“Our model is the spirit of Albert Fouquet and his pursuit of excellence.”
(From “Know How” on the official website)

The brand also sets itself apart from conventional perfume houses in its sourcing of ingredients. It travels from the Atlas Mountains to the Aegean coast in search of rare materials not used in conventional perfumery. Its suppliers are primarily family-run farms, with small-batch harvests that follow the seasons and the pace of nature. Sustainability is also a strong consideration: its sandalwood comes from FSC-certified sources in Western Australia, using Santalum album trees grown for 15 years.

The Secret Ingredient, “Andrea”

The brand’s emblematic ingredient is “Andrea,” a wild plant said to have been discovered by Fouquet himself in the Andes. Growing on rocky terrain at altitudes of at least 3,000 meters, it can be gathered only during the two months of December and January. Furthermore, only 7% of the harvested plants pass a rigorous selection process. As a result, the number of bottles of Eight & Bob’s original perfume that can be produced is not known until the selection process ends in March or April each year. The brand presents this scarcity as a consequence of natural conditions.

Bottle and Packaging: A Perfume Hidden in a Book

Eight & Bob’s bottles combine a minimalist, rectilinear form with hand-polished glass, a black Bakelite-style cap, and a distinctive striped label. The stripes are said to derive from the pattern on the shirt John F. Kennedy wore at their first meeting. Each bottle is hand-polished and numbered.

The outer box is the most striking feature. Shaped like a book, it opens to pages telling the brand’s story, with a hollow cut into the final pages to hold the bottle. Inspired by the episode in which Philippe hid perfume inside books during the war, the design literally embodies the concept of “A fragrance with a story.” This book-shaped packaging was designed by Pati Nuñez in 2009.

The Fragrance Lineup

Eight & Bob’s lineup consists of collections inspired by Albert Fouquet’s personal journeys and encounters. Throughout, it maintains the vision of “bottling private chapters of Fouquet’s life, one at a time.”

The Original

The fragrance at the origin of the brand, said to have captivated John F. Kennedy and Hollywood stars. A bright, spicy opening of cardamom, lemon, and pink pepper leads to a complex heart of dry wood, labdanum (cistus resin), and violet leaves that evokes twentieth-century Paris, followed by a refined, warm woody trail of amber, sandalwood, and vetiver in the base. According to the brand, Andean “Andrea” is its central ingredient, and the number of bottles that can be produced depends on that year’s harvest.

The Travel Collection

A collection that captures in scent the memories of places Fouquet loved during his life.

  • Cap d’Antibes: Inspired by long summer vacations in Antibes on the Côte d’Azur. A fresh fragrance that moves from an invigorating opening of mint, birch, and violet leaves to the warmth of a summer night in cedar and vanilla.
  • Egypt: A fragrance reflecting a visit to Egypt in his youth. A cool opening of lavender, moss, and lemon moves through lavender, cardamom, and nutmeg to an oriental trail of sandalwood, leather, and patchouli.
  • Champs de Provence: The rural landscapes of Provence, where he spent time with friends who were winegrowers. An aromatic fragrance distinguished by the green-gold radiance of cold-pressed Calabrian bergamot.
  • Nuit de Mégève: Inspired by an evening gathering in Megève, a ski resort in the French Alps. A sharp opening of grapefruit, petitgrain, and clove leads through a dark heart of coffee, tonka bean, and iris, while vetiver, tobacco, and musk leave an urbane trail.
  • Mémoires de Mustique: An homage to the Caribbean island of Mustique, known as a private island. A tropical floral-citrus fragrance centered on orange blossom and neroli.

The Annicke Collection

This fragrance line, developed for women, is inspired by Fouquet’s feelings for Annicke, an Austrian woman he met in Vienna in 1936. Its underlying story is that “Fouquet continued to give her a new fragrance every time they met.” It comprises six creations, Annicke 1 through 6, each with a different personality ranging from floral to oriental.

  • Annicke 1: A clean floral fragrance centered on lily of the valley and jasmine
  • Annicke 2: A warm, enveloping floral fragrance of tuberose, immortelle, and ylang-ylang
  • Annicke 3: A chypre-floral fragrance with gardenia, jasmine, and white rose, distinguished by a meringue dessert note
  • Annicke 5: A warm, sensual oriental fragrance intertwining rum and honey with vanilla and caramel

The Les Extraits Collection

A collection of extraits de parfum, or parfum extraits, highly concentrated fragrances. With a higher concentration of rare ingredients than a conventional eau de parfum, they unfold more deeply and linger longer on the skin. A luxurious line committed to small-scale production, it is represented by four creations: Le Geste D’Edmond, La Musique de Christie, Agneta, and Guéthary.

Robert F. Kennedy Special Edition

A limited edition honoring Bob, Robert F. Kennedy, whose name inspired the brand’s name. It contains the same formula as The Original in a 50 ml bottle and was created in collaboration with the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation, with a portion of the proceeds donated to the foundation.

By the Way…

“Bob” is not the founder’s name, as is often the case with cosmetics brands. On hearing the name “Eight & Bob,” many people assume that Bob must be the founder. In the brand’s story, however, the name came directly from the wording of Kennedy’s letter: “eight bottles and, if you have stock, one for Bob.” “Bob” was the family nickname of John F. Kennedy’s younger brother, Robert F. Kennedy.

In a sense, the brand’s packaging is “contemporary art.” The experiential design, with a story written inside a book-shaped box and a bottle revealed when the final page is turned, is design studio Pati Nuñez’s literal embodiment of the concept “A fragrance with a story.” The design was part of a comprehensive branding project that included “communication, naming, and art direction,” released as a 2009 project.

“Nature decides” how many bottles are made. According to the brand, the number of bottles that can be produced from each year’s Andrea harvest is allocated among countries, so stock may run out in certain years. Many brands promote limited quantities, but Eight & Bob stands out for presenting its limits as directly linked to the natural constraints of gathering a rare plant.

References